More setbacks...ugh

Thank you for your prayers over the last few days!  Surgery took almost 7 hours on Friday and even though part of this was because the right leg was more complicated than the left, her surgeon thought it went very well!  They removed the cast from her left leg and put a temporary knee immobilizer on it until we get the leg brace.  

However, as of tonight, we are still at the hospital.  Just when we thought everything was going smoothly...  Isn't that how it goes though?  Satan just loves to trip us up.  And, yes, sometimes I let him, ugh!  Especially when it seems each surgery has had it's own drama with it.  But, in the end, I know God is fighting these battles and He will win - I don't always see how, but I do know I have to be patient and TRUST Him...oh, so hard sometimes.

So, Saturday afternoon Amelia's cast around her chest (because it's another spica cast) grew very tight - we're still not sure what happened - but she was in a lot of pain, even on a bunch of pain meds.  It became unbearable, so they called in another orthopaedic surgeon right away and he went on to cut a circle out of the front middle, another triangle by her hip and slit open the side.  Thankfully, that stopped the pressure sore on her hip that was causing a lot of pain.  This also relieved enough pressure to get her through the night.

In the meantime, Amelia's hemoglobin dropped, she developed a high fever and she still was not eating or drinking from before surgery Thursday night.  But, the cast had been squeezing her belly so tight.

This morning the on-call surgeon came in to see her and ended up removing even more of the cast in 2 spots that were still digging into her skin.  He was also concerned that Amelia still wasn't taking in any nutrition or many fluids and still had a low hemoglobin.

Tomorrow morning, Dr. K - her own doctor - will come in to re-evaluate all of this.  And she finally started to eat tonight, so that's a great start!

Thank you for faithfully lifting Amelia up in prayer - we know it's what gets us through one day at a time!

Please pray that...

- Dr. K will make the best decision on what to do about this cast.  And, if it must stay on, that her skin would be protected from pressure sores or worse.

- she'll continue to eat more!

- her hemoglobin will increase!

- she won't fight taking her meds - she's convinced "it doesn't help!"  And, she has 6 of them that she needs to be taking right now.  

- that we can get her home!  :)

It's that time again...

This Friday Amelia will be having surgery on her right leg.  It's hard to think that we would have been getting the casts off of her legs around this time and have that behind us; it almost feels like we're back at square one.  But, we trust that this was in God's plan, which is comforting, and that it's the best scenario for Amelia, which is most important!  Even though disappointments can be hard to get past sometimes, God has reminded us not to stay there too long because He has given us  so many reasons to give thanks! 

The first couple weeks after her left leg repair were quite an adjustment, especially with the spica cast.  She was very uncomfortable complaining of something poking her in the cast and she cried in pain. We still don't know what caused it, but assuming it was some stitches from the incision.  There wasn't much we could do, so thankfully it didn't last more than a week.  Transporting her was a challenge, so we stayed in for the most part.  In order to buckle her in the car safely, it requires Amelia to lay down on the seat and be buckled in using a special harness.  Once we got used to it, we got out a few times.  She loved that!  And, since then, she has been doing great!  We brought her to church a few times too and that was so good for all of us.  The kids sang her favorite song, "The Lord's Army," this past Sunday during the children's sermon - that was a highlight!  

We made a visit to her preschool class last week

and she enjoyed it so much!  What a bonus to be able

to play with her best friend too!

We were finally able to visit Gigi.  We hadn't been able

to do that since Amelia's first surgery in January.  

Amelia and my grandma, at 101 years old, have a

sweet bond and I think this was good for the both of them!

To recap, her surgeon will be doing similar work on Amelia's right leg as he did on the left leg. This involves moving her (congenitally) dislocated knee caps, loosen and tighten different parts of that area to help correct the contractures and get her knee straight - while avoiding damage to the nerves, realigning bones below her knee and shortening her femur using a bigger plate and more screws this time so that it doesn't come apart like it did in the left leg.  While prepping for surgery, Dr. K plans to remove her left leg cast, get her fitted for a leg brace with her orthotist and then temporarily put that (left) leg in a knee immobilizer. 

With that, we covet your prayers again as we anticipate surgery on Friday...

* Pray there are no surprises or extra complications with the right leg!  Her right leg has always been more complicated, but Dr. K already knows what he's getting into after doing surgery on the left leg, so that helps!

*Pray that her hemoglobin will be at normal levels going into surgery - we know there will again be considerable blood loss with the extent of this surgery, but praying she will come out on top of it all and not require a blood transfusion.  Her levels were very critical after the first surgery, and she felt miserable, so not having to go through that again would be a great answer to prayer!  When she had her blood drawn a few weeks ago, her hemoglobin was rising, but still not within normal range.  We have kept up the different supplements to increase that, so we hope and pray that will work!  

* Pray that God would prepare Amelia and all those that will be part of her surgery from pre-op to post-op.  Pray that everything will fall into place and the results will be successful!

* Pray that God would also prepare Nels and I for whatever lies ahead and for Elsie and Sam as we have another adjustment in our daily routines.  

We can not begin to express our gratitude for how much God is taking care of us through so many of you!  From simply "How is Amelia doing?" or "We're praying for her/your family" to the very generous gifts...every one of these acts of thoughtfulness and great kindness have a special place in my heart and will never be forgotten!  We can truly say, "...my cup overflows!" (Psalm 23:5)

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”  Luke 6:38

"I will sing the Lord’s praise, for He has been good to me."  Psalm 13:6

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!"  Ephesians 3:20-21